The Story of Wales Origins Lunchtime Talk: Pontnew

About

Pontnewydd Cave has been one of Amgueddfa Cymru - National Museum Wales' largest archaeological research projects. Commenced in 1978, the excavations dramatically changed our understanding of the earliest presence of people in Wales.

Discoveries made during this research project include the remains of the first people ever known to have visited Wales, an evolutionary early form of Neanderthal. Accompanying their remains are stone tools and animal bones that can now be seen on display in the Origins exhibition.

This talk will bring the story up to date. It will reveal how many Neanderthals are represented by the fossils found in the excavations, how they were dated, what we know about how they lived their lives, and the story of what the climate and landscape was like just over 250,000 years ago. This is a talk by Elizabeth Walker, Archaeology Department.